Ford Mustang Parts

Mustang News

2011 Ford Mustang V-6 Goes High-Tech: New 305-HP Engine, Six-Speed Transmission Expected to Deliver 30 mpg Highway

• For 2011, Mustang makes sports coupe news with a new, high-performance, all-aluminum Duratec 3.7-liter DOHC Ti-VCT V-6 that delivers 305 horsepower and an expected best-in-class 30 mpg highway with six-speed automatic transmission - no other vehicle in the industry can beat that combination

• Six-speed transmissions - manual and automatic - combine with newly standard limited-slip differential and revised suspension for road-carving driving dynamics and handling

• New technology and convenience features include standard integrated spotter mirrors, message center, MyKey(TM) programmable vehicle key and Universal Garage Door Opener

The 2011 Ford Mustang puts 305 high-performance horses in the hands of V-6 coupe buyers with a new, all-aluminum dual-overhead-cam engine that delivers a projected 30 mpg on the highway with six-speed automatic transmission.

For 2011, Mustang's new 3.7-liter Duratec® 24-valve V-6 uses advanced engineering to deliver its power and economy: Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) adjusts the valvetrain in microseconds. Aluminum construction means light weight. It's an engine designed to crank out torque down low, rev to 7,000 rpm and deliver the mechanical music sports coupe lovers crave everywhere in between.

"Mustang is completely transformed with this new engine," said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. "Everything people love about the car is still there, and now under the hood is a V-6 engine that uses premium technology to deliver the power, the feel, the fuel efficiency, even the sound of the best sports coupes in the world."

With Ti-VCT operating its four valves per cylinder, the new Mustang V-6 powerplant sends significantly more horsepower and torque (305 hp and 280 ft.-lb.) to the rear wheels than its predecessor - despite its smaller displacement. Drivers can get the most out of the new V-6 engine's output using either an all-new six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic transmission.

Projected class-leading fuel economy also is a standard feature:

• 19 mpg city/30 highway with six-speed automatic transmission, up from 16 mpg city/24 highway on the 2010 model with automatic - a 25 percent improvement

•18 mpg city/29 highway with six-speed manual transmission, up from 18 mpg city/26 highway on the 2010 model with manual

Chassis enhancements maintain the outstanding balance and driving behavior Mustang owners expect. Damper tuning and spring rates were revised to provide a smooth highway ride, while a new rear lower control arm and stiffened stabilizer bar bushings improve stiffness and handling for better cornering response.

A standard limited-slip differential provides better handling and more sure-footed grip in poor weather conditions by directing engine torque to the rear wheel with the most traction. The 2011 Mustang is also equipped with larger four-wheel ABS disc brakes, with 11.5-inch front and 11.8-inch rear rotors.

A new Performance Package, which will be available in August 2010, includes:

• A 3.31 rear axle ratio for quicker off-the-line acceleration
• Firmer Mustang GT suspension
• 19-inch wheels
• Summer performance tires for improved grip
• A strut tower brace for increased chassis rigidity
• Unique electronic stability control calibration with sport mode for performance driving

Mustang technology advances also are incorporated in the structure of the vehicle to improve safety. The 2010 Mustang coupe earned the U.S. government's top five-star crash-test rating, a designation the 2011 model also is expected to achieve.

- Ford Motor Company, Press Release, Monday, November 30, 2009

Road Test: '08 Mustang Bullitt: McQueen-Cool Power and Speed

Four decades after hitting the big screen and redefining the on-screen car chase, the Ford Mustang Bullitt returns to the streets in 2008, blending the best Mustang ever with the latest Ford Racing technology

The newest "Bullitt" version of the Ford Mustang is testament, in highland green clearcoat, to what a good job Ford has done over the years in maintaining the goodwill of its pony car.

Contrast that with how General Motors allowed its Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, which also have loyal followings, to die of neglect.

The Bullitt Mustang evokes the 1968 film of the same name co-starring Steve McQueen and a green '68 Mustang with the sweetest exhaust tone this side of heaven - which no stock Mustang ever had. McQueen and his co-star chase a couple of bad guys in a Dodge Charger all over San Francisco in a tire-squealing, hill-jumping, nine-minute duel that ends with the Charger and its occupants oven-toasted in a fiery wreck.

The green Mustang nearly upstages the human at the wheel, and for 2008 Ford is mining that goodwill with a second specially equipped version of the Mustang GT, priced at $31,075. The first Bullitt, an '01 model, was based on the previous-generation Mustang. The new one has the advantage of the retro, late-60-ish restyling done as part of the 2005 model year Mustang redesign.

Its 4.6-liter V-8 engine delivers an extra 15 hp. over the base GT's - or 315, with an exhaust system tweaked for more power and a (not quite successful) effort to duplicate the sound of McQueen's car. The Environmental Protection Agency doesn't provide economy estimates for the Bullitt specifically but one would assume, because of the extra performance, that economy will be slightly less than the 15 miles per gallon city, 23 highway numbers for the basic GT. I averaged no better than 20.4 mpg in a roughly 80-20 mix of highway and local suburban driving, according to my tester's driving computer.

The five-speed transmission - the only gearbox available, because real men like McQueen shift their own gears - is a bit crude but gets the job done. The clutch pedal pressure is light, and it's easy to get used to. There's enough engine torque, 325 pound-feet, for rumble-free second-gear starts in normal, non-hurried, driving.

Real men don't need power steering, either, so the assist in the Bullitt's system is low.

The $3,310 options package that makes the GT into a Bullitt includes a more responsive throttle; a new induction system to feed power-boosting cool air to the engine; a redline higher by 250 rpms, or 6,500, to increase the top speed; a 3.73 ratio limited slip rear axle for quicker, five-second zero-to-60-mph launches, and stronger brakes.

Aesthetic elements of the Bullitt package include the dark green paint (with black as an alternative), specially styled 18-inch wheels, and interior touches that include a spherical polished aluminum shift knob and aluminum swirl dashboard appliqué for a '60s look.

Ford plans to build 7,700 Bullitts this model year, with no more after that.

The Mustang has seat-mounted side air bags and does a good job protecting occupants in side impacts, according to U.S. government crash tests - as it does in frontal crashes, where it earns the highest, five-star, rating.

Consumer Reports says the Mustang's reliability is average. Auto market researchers J.D. Power and Associates rated Fords above average, based on owner gripes in the first three months on the road, but slightly below average in dependability over three years. Prices start at $20,445 for a V-6 model and range up to $44,425 for the 500 hp. V-8 Shelby GT 500.

2008 Ford Mustang GT Bullitt

Vehicle Tested:

Engine: 4.6-liter V-8

Fuel: Premium recommended

Transmission: Five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive

Safety: Dual front and seat-mounted side air bags; four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock; fog lamps; tire-pressure monitoring system

Place of Assembly: Flat Rock, Mich.

Trunk: 13.1 cubic feet

EPA fuel economy estimates: 15 mpg in city driving; 23 on the highway

Price as driven: $34,705 including freight

- Tom Incantalupo, Newsday, Friday, May 16, 2008

Under the Hood With Knight Rider 2.0: Trans Am vs. Ford Mustang (Featuring Exclusive New KITT Specs—and Classic Hasselhoff!)

If you were a child of the 1980s, or are just a fan of very-late-night cable television, then you've most likely seen Michael Knight (played by a pre-Baywatch David Hasselhoff) and his chatty supercar sidekick, KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand), do battle with bad guys on the small-screen action-adventure show Knight Rider.

At first glance, KITT appeared to be a sporty 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, fresh off the assembly line. But thanks to a little Hollywood razzle-dazzle, the car transformed into a virtually indestructible machine—possessed with advanced artificial intelligence that allowed it to accept voice control commands, interact with "The Hoff" and make decisions on its own. In fact, the car's AI was so advanced that KITT formed a kind of personality, which is what has endeared the "car" to millions of auto geeks in a way the Batmobile never could be. But when the show was shelved in 1986, so was KITT.

Last week, NBC unveiled an all-new, controversial KITT, which is set to star in the made-for-TV Knight Rider movie in February. Based on the still-to-be-released Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR (click here for engine-revving video), this virtual Stang comes tricked out with a supercomputer that can hack almost any system; a very capable weapons system; and a body—thanks to nanotechnology—that's able to shape-shift and change color at will. Like its predecessor, the 21st century KITT gets AI from digital effects wizards that makes it an ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and infinitely smart.

Designer Harald Belker, who has created the Batmobile for Batman and Robin and a next-gen space shuttle for Armageddon, came onboard to give the new KITT. a unique look. "The goal was to make it look more aggressive without being hokey or garish," Belker says. "Maintaining as much of the original beauty of the Shelby as possible was important—and not just because of the Ford connection. It had to be simple yet believable as a superhero." Once his vision was set, Belker turned to Ted Moser from Picture Car Warehouse to make his drawings come to life. But there was one big hurdle: The GT500KR doesn't technically exist quite yet. "So we had to finish their design first," Moser says. "Then we brought in a prop maker to create side skirts and spoilers out of wood, smooth them out, and sent them to a fiberglass shop to make molds. Once the parts are formed from those molds, we finish them and attach them to the car."

One of the cooler features of the Mustang KITT is air-ride suspension, which allows its driver to lower the car's ride height when the vehicle morphs from Hero to Attack mode. "When it goes on the offensive, it gets slammed to the ground," Moser chuckles. Very aggressive, indeed. There will be three models used in filming: Hero (essentially a stock GT500KR); Attack (the tricked-out model); and Remote Control (operated via RC, obviously). "All of the ‘transforming' will be done through CGI animation like in the Transformers movie," Moser admits.

For all you Trans Am holdouts, Mustang droolers and Hasselhoff haters, here's the very first look at all of the new KITT's gee-whiz specs and functionality, matched up to the original to determine which is better equipped for Hollywood crime-fighting.

KITT vs. KITT Spec Breakdown!

- Popular Mechanics, Thursday, December 20, 2007

So Many Mustangs

Ford has pumped out a succession of low-volume Mustangs since redesigning the pony car for the 2005 model year.  Despite all those special-edition choices, Mustang fans are clamoring for more, Ford says.  Customers can choose from six editions available now or early next year: Shelby GT500 coupe and convertible, Shelby GT500 KR coupe, Shelby GT coupe and convertible, Bullitt coupe, GT California Special couple and convertible, and Warriors in Pink coupe and convertible, a portion of the proceeds going to breast cancer research.

- Crain Communications, Newsday, Friday, December 14, 2007

Mustang Bullitt Reprising Its Role

The late Steve McQueen's four-wheeled co-star in the 1968 film "Bullitt" is being reprised by Ford... again.  The new limited-production Mustang Bullitt is due at dealerships in January as an '08 model listing for $31,075 with freight.

Only 7,700 will be produced.  Buyers can have any color they want as long as it's black or dark green like the two heavily-modified 1968 models used in the film, which featured one of cinema's most-exciting car chases.

The new Bullitt will have a 4.6-liter, 315-hp V-8, more aggressive shocks and struts and better brakes than a GT and an exhaust tone that Ford says matches the high-pitched rasp of the movie's cars.  It will come only with a five-speed stick.

- Tom Incantalupo, Newsday, Friday, November 16, 2007

A Mustang A Year

Ford will debut at least one derivative of the Mustang each year starting in 2008 with the return of the Bullitt, last offered in 2001.  Bullitt paid tribute to the movie of the same name, which contains one of Hollywood's most famous car chases.  "The Mustang name is magic, and we want to keep the momentum going with a version that was very popular," says Cisco Codina, group vice president of sales and marketing.

"When we announced we'd build Bullitt, we said we would produce only 5,000 and we got that many orders the day we made the announcement."

- Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Friday, October 13, 2006

New 2007 Ford Shelby GT Offers A Balanced Small-Block Dose Of Modern Shelby Mustang Magic

- The new Ford Shelby GT adds a 4.6-liter V-8, 325-horsepower* model to the modern Shelby Mustang portfolio, joining the 5.4-liter, 500-horsepower Ford Shelby GT500.

- Ford reveals the ‘Go Fast’ decision-making and development process of new Shelby GT on its “Bold Moves: The Future of Ford” web-based documentary today at: www.fordboldmoves.com.

- The Shelby GT arrives in dealer showrooms in first quarter of 2007.

- Ford Shelby Mustangs have proven extremely desirable: The first publicly available Shelby GT500 sold for $600,000 in January and the only Shelby GT-H sold to the public commanded $250,000 in late July, both at charity auctions.

Today, Ford debuts the all-new 2007 Ford Shelby GT through a behind-the-scenes look at the high-performance Mustang’s development on its “Bold Moves: The Future of Ford” web-based documentary (www.fordboldmoves.com). On Wednesday, Ford confirmed production of the Shelby GT as one of 9 new product introductions coming in the next 6 months for Ford and Lincoln Mercury. The Shelby GT will feature a 4.6-liter V-8 producing 325-horsepower and production will be limited in volume therefore assuring its exclusivity like all Shelby Mustang models.

“Our goal is to offer a steed for every need,” says John Felice, Ford brand general marketing manager. “The new Shelby GT is a low-volume, extremely collectable Mustang for enthusiasts. It also offers a few more customers the opportunity to experience firsthand magic of Mustang and Carroll Shelby.”

The Shelby GT is the third modern Shelby Mustang produced through a collaboration of Ford and Shelby Automobiles. In addition to the 2007 Shelby GT500, Ford and Shelby created 500 copies of the Ford Shelby GT-H, which are available only through select Hertz rental centers.

“We have been overwhelmed at the number of people who want to buy a version of the Shelby GT-H,” said Carroll Shelby, CEO of Shelby Automobiles, Inc. “The Shelby GT will deliver the power and balanced handling of the Shelby GT-H, but with more performance potential, especially due to the available manual transmission.”

Modern Shelby Mustangs have proven to be extremely desirable among Mustang and Shelby enthusiasts. For example, in January an early production Shelby GT500 sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction for $600,000, with proceeds benefiting the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation. On July 28, a Shelby GT-H was sold for $250,000 at the EAA AirVenture, with proceeds benefiting the Youth Eagles aviation education program.

Shelby-inspired performance, proven by Ford Racing

“The Shelby GT builds on the expertise of Ford Racing, the experience of Carroll Shelby and the Shelby team to deliver an incredible driving experience that is unmistakably Shelby,” says Jamie Allison, manager, Ford Racing Performance Group. “And, like every Shelby Mustang should be, the Shelby GT is ready to be both a weekday driver and a weekend warrior for track days.”

The Shelby GT driving dynamics are fine tuned with the Ford Racing Handling Pack, which was developed by the same engineers that developed the Ford Racing FR500C, which won the 2005 Grand-Am Cup Championship. New coil springs drop the overall ride height by an inch-and-a-half for a more aggressive stance and reduced body roll. Stiffer dampers and front swaybar further enhance cornering feel and body control. To showcase the key performance modifications, Ford Racing painted all the key suspension components, including the damper, spring, and swaybar Ford Racing Blue.

A front strut-tower brace adds additional strength to the chassis structure, and P235/55ZR18 high-performance tires maximize the benefits of the chassis upgrades.

Under hood, the Ford Racing Power Pack increases the output of the naturally aspirated, three-valve, 4.6-liter V-8 to 325-horsepower, and 330 pound-feet of torque. The Power Pack includes a 90 millimeter cold-air intake and a new performance engine calibration for improved response. The high-flow exhaust system with X-pipe crossover offers better power delivery and a throaty V-8 exhaust note. A shorter rear-axle ratio is installed to capitalize on the Shelby GT coupe’s extra power, especially accelerating off the line. For Shelby GT models equipped with a manual transmission, a Hurst short-throw shifter is installed for more precise shift action.

“The Shelby GT is great fun on the track,” continues Shelby. “It’s got the heart and soul of the Mustang GT pumped up with a strong motor, nimble chassis and great sound. It’s one of those rare cars that’s easy to drive really fast.”

Authentic Shelby design cues

The Shelby GT will be offered only as a coupe, and only in two exterior colors, Performance White or Black. Both colors are accented by silver LeMans-style racing stripes – a signature detail of classic Shelby Mustangs. The LeMans stripes extend over the hood, roof, and trunk, and are complemented by matching side stripes with “Shelby GT” nomenclature.

The powerful face of the Shelby GT features a unique front fascia, with a more aggressive lower air dam. The brushed-aluminum grille is accented by an offset Mustang logo. In addition, the Shelby GT has a new hood scoop that comes directly from the famed Shelby Cobra roadster.

The side profile features chrome-finished 18-inch wheels and unique side scoops just before the rear wheel arches. The rear fascia frames the larger dual exhaust tips, and is topped by Shelby badging on the trunk lid.

Inside, features include ‘Shelby GT’ logo floor mats and custom sill plates with Shelby GT nomenclature. In addition, the Shelby GT features an authentication plate on the center dashboard, as well as matching tag underhood. This tag features the CSX number, which is recorded in the Shelby Automobiles registry.

Shelby GT models will begin as a stock Mustang GT assembled at AutoAlliance International assembly plant in Flat Rock, Mich. The cars are then shipped to the Shelby Automobiles facility in Las Vegas for modification before delivery to Ford dealerships.

“The Shelby team in Las Vegas is excited about building the Shelby GT,” said Amy Boylan, President of Shelby Automobiles, Inc. “With our friends at Ford, we are creating the next chapter in the Shelby legacy.”

Offering a steed for every need

“It’s an exciting time to be a muscle car fan, as legendary names from the 1960’s are being reincarnated in the marketplace,” says Felice. “As the Shelby GT shows, Ford will continue to dominate the new muscle car wars just as we have done for over forty years. No other nameplate will be able to match the depth and breadth of options the Mustang offers.”

In support of Ford’s “steed for every need” strategy, Ford now offers four horsepower options for Mustang, with pricing from $19,995 for a 210-hp V-6 Mustang coupe to $46,500 for a 500-hp Shelby GT500 convertible.

Ford has also introduced several special packages on Mustang further increasing its unique offerings, including the Pony Package and the California Special. And there are plans for more in the future.

In addition, Ford Racing offers a complete catalog of performance parts for Mustang fans, from custom wheels and exhausts to the complete, turn-key Ford Racing Mustang FR500C race car.

As a result, Ford offers Mustang enthusiasts the ability to buy, modify and drive the steed that perfectly fits their need.

- Ford Motor Company, Press Release, Sunday, August 13, 2006

2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Officially Rated At 500 Horsepower

- Ford Shelby GT500 officially rated at 500 horsepower, 25 horsepower higher than preliminary estimates
- The Shelby GT500 will go on sale this summer with more horsepower than any previous factory-built Mustang

The most powerful factory-built Mustang ever just got even more potent. Final certification testing of the Shelby GT500’s 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 shows it will produce 500 horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque – 25 more horsepower than preliminary estimates.

“With 500 hp and the Shelby name, this car is an instant legend," said Hau Thai-Tang, director, Advanced Product Creation & SVT programs. "This is the most powerful, most capable Mustang ever."

The Ford Shelby GT500's supercharged 5.4-liter, 32-valve V-8 is a result of Ford's experience in developing the modular V-8 and V-10 engine series. The engine is force-fed air via a "Roots-type" supercharger providing 9 pounds per square inch of boost. It borrows the four-valve cylinder heads, piston rings and bearings, from the Ford GT engine.

The 500 hp rating was obtained using the Society of Automotive Engineer's latest standard and was witnessed by an objective third party. The Shelby GT500's 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 will be built at Ford's Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Mich. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.

The right to purchase the first 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 was auctioned for $600,000, with the proceeds benefiting the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation. The 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 goes on sale this summer
 

- Ford Motor Company, Press Release, Monday, May 1, 2006

Mutant Mustangs

Ford Motor Co., to pump up sales of its flagship muscle car, will provide customized Mustang coupes to Hertz Corp.'s rental fleet.

Five hundred 2007 Mustang GTs will be transformed by Shelby Automobiles Inc. into Mustang GT-Hs, then shipped to Hertz locations in Florida, California and Arizona. The cars, unveiled at New York's auto show, will have customized suspensions and exhaust systems, and a revamped hood and trunk.

Mustang sales declined 3.7 percent in the first quarter, more than a year after Ford introduced a redesigned version. Sales had risen 24 percent in 2005, and Ford is betting that people who rent the modified cars or see GT-Hs on the road may boost Mustang sales this year.

"Ford is going to do everything they can to keep it fresh," said Erich Merkle, an auto analyst at Michigan consulting firm IRN Inc.

Hertz will auction its 500 GT-Hs after they have been driven 16,000 to 18,000 miles.

Amy Boyland, president of Shelby Automobiles said the GT-H Mustangs will have black-and-gold exteriors, redesigned hoods, air scoops and rear differentials and slightly more horsepower than regular GTs.

The cars, due late this month or in early May, will rent for about $125 a day, Hertz spokeswoman Paula Rivera said.

Ford also worked with Shelby to develop the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500, a Mustang with a 475 hp supercharged V-8 engine on sale later this year.

- Bloomberg News, Newsday, Friday, April 21, 2006

This Mustang Is Part Echo, Part Thunder

Thoroughly redesigned for '05, the latest version harks back to the classic pony cars of yore, while delivering major bang for the buck

THE GOOD: Affordability, cool retro styling, improved handling

THE BAD: Minimalist rear seating, small trunk

THE BOTTOM LINE: Really gallops for the bucks it costs

The other evening, I found myself having dinner at a place called Johnny Rockets, one of those retro burger joints with old-fashioned malteds, rock 'n' roll oldies blaring on the jukebox, and burgers the size of a catcher's mitt. You're drawn to places like this when you're tooling around in a Torch Red Ford Mustang GT convertible on a hot summer evening. I mean, if this car doesn't put you in a retro mood, nothing will. It's just so satisfying to be able to sit in a booth by the window and watch people outside sidle over to the car and give it an admiring once-over.

The Mustang, of course, is an American icon, and sales of the latest version are booming: Ford is producing 192,000 Mustangs this calendar year, up from 112,000 in 2004. Yet, with sales up 47% through May, the main problem with the 2005 Mustang is getting your hands on one. Most of them are already spoken for, and dealers are starting to take orders for the 2006 model, which will hit the showrooms in August and September.

The good news is that the 2006 Mustang will be almost identical to this year's model, a Ford spokesman says, though it's not yet clear whether the price will go up. Place your orders now, anyway, if you want one.

POTENT COMBO. One reason the Mustang is generating so much excitement is that in the all-new 2005 version Ford did a wonderful job of updating and redesigning the car. The retro styling really turns heads. And the base sticker on the 2005 GT convertible is just $30,240 -- and, even with numerous options my test model listed for $34,080. At that price, it's hard to beat the new Mustang's combination of style and performance.

Indeed, in my quest to find the ideal Midlife Crisis models -- the ones with the excitement quotient to put some pizzazz in an aging baby boomer's otherwise humdrum existence -- the Mustang GT Convertible fairly jumped out and demanded to be included in the list.

The car is just so cool looking. With its relatively short front profile, it doesn't really look much like the early Mustangs, the classic "pony cars" with the signature long sloping hood, short rear deck, and sculpted flanks. But the stubby rear end, the contouring around the rear bumper area, the slight suggestion of a prow in the hood -- to say nothing of the galloping silver horse logo on the grille -- all give the car a retro feel that strongly suggests Mustangs of the past.

HEAR IT GROWL. Ditto for the interior. Clad in black leather with highlights in brushed aluminum -- a $450 option that my test car had -- it's almost understated, except for some retro touches that give it punch. For example, the dash has four very distinctive-looking chrome air vents with brushed-aluminum louvers. In my test car, the bucket seats were in red leather with matching red floor mats (which cost another $175). The red is very striking against the black leather, though I suspect the effect would wear on you after a year or two.

Then there's what may be my favorite feature of the whole car: The engine's throaty growl. The second-to-last day I was test-driving the GT convertible, two Pennsylvania state troopers dropped by the house (I won't go into why except to say I really wasn't at fault). As soon as they were done with business, they started peppering me with questions about the Mustang parked out front. When I revved up the engine so they could give it a listen, one of the cops marveled: "Isn't it great to hear that sound again?"

Exactly. The roar of the engine is loud enough to drown out conversation when you're accelerating with the top down -- and that's another deliberate attempt to recall the muscle cars of the '60s and '70s. Think of the sound of Steve McQueen redlining a 1968 Mustang GT through the hills of San Francisco in the movie Bullitt.

SOLID BONES. The new GT convertible doesn't just sound speedy. Equipped with the 5-speed manual transmission (you can get it with a 5-speed automatic for an extra $985, if you prefer -- but why?), the powerful 2005 GT's 4.6-liter, 300-horsepower V-8 propels the car from zero to 60 in just over 5 seconds. That's fast enough to match much more expensive convertibles such as the BMW 645ci and the Audi S4.

The handling is also reasonably tight, unless you do some really hard cornering. Thanks to a number of structural enhancements, the new convertible's frame is much more rigid than the previous model's. That keeps it from shuddering and rattling on bumpy roads when you're driving with the top down.

The Mustang's main downside is the minuscule back seat. The only way I figure a normal adult can sit in the thing is to push the front seat all the way forward, get into the back seat, and then ease the front seat back over your feet. That leaves you with no wiggle room to keep your legs from cramping on a long ride. The 11 cubic feet of trunk space is tolerable for a convertible -- unless you go for the optional $1,295 Shaker 1000 audio system, which includes a subwoofer the size of a carry-on bag stashed in the trunk.

FIVE-MINUTE OPERATION. Getting the automatic soft top up and down is a bit of a chore, too. It does raise and lower easily enough: You just undo two levers at the top inside of the windshield and then hold down a switch for 15 seconds or so. But getting the fabric cover on -- and you're not supposed to drive without it -- involves pinching the cover's edges in under the body and around the back seats, and attaching various cords and plastic clips to hold it down.

I never got it on in less than five minutes. That's a heck of a lot less handy than the automatic tops on General Motors models such as the Corvette and Chevy SSR.

Still, those are mainly quibbles. We're talking an American icon here at a price most Americans can afford. Hi Yo Silver!

- Thane Peterson, BusinessWeek Online, Friday, July 8, 2005

Detroit Builds Muscle

The American auto industry is trying to muscle its way out of the doldrums.

Three decades after the heyday of muscle cars - raw, powerful vehicles such as the Ford Mustang and Pontiac GTO that helped define freedom-of-the-road independence for a generation - some newly redesigned versions are emerging as strong sellers. Ford is selling about 18,000 Mustangs a month, as many as its factory can produce, and says demand is greater than expected.

In coming weeks it will face a new challenger, the Dodge Charger, from DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group, which is hitting showrooms this summer and is a remake of a vehicle that last rolled off assembly lines more than 25 years ago. The Mustang and GTO have both been on the market since last year.

The stakes are high for Detroit's Big Three automakers, which are having trouble finding new designs that connect with buyers. At Ford, the Mustang is one of its few big hits among several new passenger cars that were supposed to help the company regain market share.

Despite a few successes like the Mustang and the top-selling new Chrysler 300 sedan, Detroit's automakers have mostly had trouble getting buyers interested in their new designs. Ford already has started reworking the look of its Ford Five Hundred, a rival to the Chrysler 300, less than a year after its launch in hopes of boosting sales. GM's Buick division has piled up a big inventory of LaCrosse sedans, an all-new model that was supposed to turn around the brand's dowdy image.

In the first five months of this year, Ford's market share has fallen 1 percentage point to 19.1 percent. GM's is down to 25.7 percent from 27.2 percent. Even with the Mustang's strong sales, Ford's market share has continued to slip, although profit from the car is one of the factors putting Ford in slightly better financial condition than General Motors Corp. In the first quarter GM had a loss of $1.1 billion.

To meet demand, Ford considered investing in additional capacity to build more Mustangs than the current maximum output of 192,000 a year. Executives decided against it to avoid getting stuck with too much capacity should demand slack off after a year or two, says Stephen G. Lyons, Ford North America group vice president for market, sales and service.

Part of the Mustang's appeal to buyers is its aggressive, retro look. As part of the redesign for the 2005 model year, Ford reverted to styling that hews closely to the look of the Mustangs of the mid-1960s. The most noticeable change is the car's front end, which features a large grille slanted backward toward the engine, giving it sort of a "shark nose" profile.

Despite the redesign, don't expect the kind of refined interior found in a BMW or Audi. There is plenty of hard plastic, and the rear seat is small. During a recent test drive, a 3-year-old complained about a lack of legroom. Entry-level Mustangs go for $19,890, but the most powerful GT version starts at $25,815.

The remake of the GTO, which also started appearing in showrooms with the 2005 model year, followed a different strategy. Instead of evoking the car's 1970s heyday, it adopted a more modern, rounded look, which hasn't been a hit with buyers.

As a result, GM is on track to sell only about 13,000 this year; they are averaging only about 1,000 a month. Evan Sobran, 43, a real estate executive in Duxbury, Mass., who has test-driven the car, says it drives well but doesn't turn heads like the Mustang and Charger. "It's $34,000 and looks like a Saturn, or some rounded bar of soap," he says.

That is bad news for GM, which was hoping the GTO would help generate excitement for its other new passenger cars, particularly the Pontiac G6, an all-new replacement for Pontiac's aging Grand Am.

The company was counting on a comeback in passenger cars to offset declines in sales of sport utility vehicles, one of its biggest sources of profit.

Chrysler is launching the Charger while the company is on a roll, thanks to the success of the 300 sedan, which shares its underpinnings, as well as its powerful eight-cylinder engine, with the Charger. If the Charger turns into a hit along the lines of the 300, Chrysler could be on the way to its most profitable year in some time. A sedan with a big, bold front grille, the 300 is among the hottest cars right now, selling about 12,000 a month.

The new Charger won't be an updated copy of the original, which is perhaps most widely known for its iconic role in "The Dukes of Hazzard" television show.

In a nod to the baby-boomer sensibilities of its current target market, the new Charger is a four-door - the original had only two.

The car does retain its scowling, angled headlights as well as other styling cues to remind consumers of its heritage.

Catering to consumers' concerns about fuel efficiency in an era of $2-a-gallon gas, the Charger also has a system that shuts off four of the engine's eight cylinders while cruising on the highway or sitting in traffic. In one day of heavy stop-and-go driving, the Charger managed 19 miles a gallon, which is roughly two or three miles a gallon better than the Mustang in similar driving. On the highway, the Charger got almost 24 mpg.

- Neal E. Boudette, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Sunday, July 3, 2005

Dodge's "Mustang"

Watch out, Ford Mustang. Dodge is preparing a challenger. In fact, it's likely to be called Challenger.

Chrysler plans to resurrect a respected name from the pony car era for a rear-wheel-drive Mustang fighter, industry sources say. The car is expected in 2009 on the LX platform, the basis of the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum and Charger.

"It is a two-door, essentially a competitor for the Mustang," says Catherine Madden, a production analyst for industry research group Global Insight. "They are really excited about it."

Chrysler hopes to sell 60,000 to 70,000 of the cars a year, she says.

Jim Hall, vice president of industry analysis at AutoPacific Inc., says he isn't sure Chrysler can pull it off. "They have a lot of stuff that has to be cleared off the table before they start playing around with that car," he says.

The redesigned 2005 Mustang has exceeded initial sales estimates. Ford expects to build 192,000 Mustangs this year, and most retail units are selling at a price near the sticker.

The 1970-74 Challenger was Dodge's answer to the original Mustang, as well as the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, Mercury Cougar and AMC Javelin. And, yes, the original Challenger had a Hemi V-8.

- Autoweek, Newsday, Friday, June 24, 2005

A Very Popular Pony With A New, Clearer Convertible Vision

Nearly lost in all the bad news lately about General Motors' and Ford's problems is that, for all their faults, both automakers still know how to build a car that will light the fires of American consumers. Not enough of them, unfortunately, but they can build them.

The Corvette is a perennial example from General Motors. The upcoming Pontiac Solstice roadster might be another, if early returns prove correct.

But there's no question about the redesigned 2005 Ford Mustang. It's a smash hit. And in short supply. More about that later.

In time for summer, Ford has added a convertible model to the hardtop that debuted in the fall. Like the hardtop, it offers what is likely to be a winning blend of Mustang heritage with modern auto technology and, as an option, the exhilarating rumble of an American V-8.

It offers a high seating position that makes for more graceful and less painful entry and exit, especially for people old enough to have driven the 1964 Mustang when it was new.

Like its exterior, the new Mustang's interior is strongly evocative of late-1960s Mustangs - especially the '67 - with the square arched "eyebrows" over the gauge cluster and glove box, and, as an option, a heavy use of aluminum and chrome trim on the dash.

Happily, the convertible Mustang's body is well designed to compensate for the lack of the structural strength of a hard roof; body shake is minimal over bumps, although the tester's top produced a few creaks and groans.

Ford says it did more than just install extra bracing to the hardtop's body structure to produce the Mustang convertible; it says it designed the car from the start to be a convertible. Ford says the convertible's body is twice as resistant to flexing as its predecessor, and yet the convertible version of the '05 model weighs only 175 pounds more than the hardtop.

Still, at more than 3,600 pounds in the GT automatic transmission version, the Mustang is not light for a two-plus-two. The driver senses that weight in every turn and every stop.

My other complaints are minor: sun glare and scrunched-together numerals in an old-fashioned typeface make the speedometer somewhat difficult to read during the day. The convertible's top is power-operated, but the driver still has to manually unlatch and relatch it to the windshield header. One need not install a boot, however; the front section of the top serves that purpose when the top is folded. Buyers who wish, however, can order a larger soft boot.

Ford says it has improved the top's sealing of the windows and body and, indeed, I heard not a wisp of whistle from my tester's top, even at highway speeds.

Also commendable is the convertible's large rear window and narrow C pillars (the vertical parts of the top); as convertibles go, this one offers very good visibility in reversing and lane changing.

Mustang hardtops begin at $19,890 with freight for a 200-hp. six-cylinder model with a five-speed stick. Add $995 for automatic transmission.

GT hardtop models, which have 300-hp. V-8 engines, start at $25,815.

Convertibles with a V-6 and a stick shift begin at $24,615, while the GT convertible starts at $30,240. With options that included a $1,295 Shaker stereo, my GT convertible tester listed for $34,705.

Ford says both engines are new for '05 and that neither needs the more expensive premium gas.

I sampled V-6 and GT hardtops late last year and described them in this space Dec. 31.

With an extra seven horsepower this year, the V-6 model is once again more than adequate for ordinary driving. The new V-6 displaces 4.0 liters and replaces a 3.8-liter six.

The GT has an extra 40 hp. this year, and it's a delight and still manages to get acceptable fuel economy for a muscle car - 18 miles per gallon city, 23 highway by Environmental Protection Agency estimate.

Although it has less power under the hood than last year's 310-hp. Mach1 and the 390-hp. SVT Cobra, the '05 GT, whether in hardtop or convertible form, manages zero to 60 mph in about five seconds.

As you'd expect, GT models handle superbly, feeling secure up to the low triple digits, at least. Be advised, though, that, even at legal speeds, engine exhaust and tire noise in the GT are considerable, and the ride is quite firm.

The handling of my V-6 hardtop tester was a pleasant surprise, so you might want to consider going that route if your heart isn't set on a V-8 version.

The Mustang's wheelbase grew by 6 inches in the redesign, and the overall length is up by about 4 inches. But, even though the wheels were pushed farther to the corners of the car, and there are 2 more inches of shoulder room and about an inch more hip room, the new Mustangs' cabins still feel confining. The rear seats still are cramped for adults despite a 1-inch increase in legroom.

The Mustangs' suspensions are new, and, although Mustangs still have a solid rear axle, clever engineering has virtually eliminated the wheel hop on bumpy surfaces that once was common.

Unfortunately, especially in a car apt to be driven aggressively and/or by young people, stability control is not available to help control sideways skids.

My convertible tester had the optional five-speed automatic - an acceptable second-best for enthusiast types.

The five-speed stick in my GT hardtop tester, which Ford says was upgraded for '05, was first-rate; it had a precise feel and was paired with a clutch that's easy to get used to and that engages smoothly. The lack of a sixth gear seems behind the times for a performance car, though.

Although they've been on the road officially since October, there's little publicly available data yet on the new Mustangs' reliability. This page at J.D. Power and Associates Web site - www.jdpower.com/cc/auto/ratings/ vehicles/FindJdAwards.jsp - says that, based on early indications from owners, the '05 Mustang "does not really stand out" in mechanical quality but does much better in the quality of its accessories, body and interior.

Safetywise, the picture is similarly mixed. There is no data yet for the convertible, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded the hardtop a perfect five stars for its performance in the agency's 35 mph frontal crash test rating. In the agency's side impact test, though, the Mustang scored four stars.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, another good source of objective safety rankings, hasn't published anything for the new Mustangs.

Antilock brakes are standard in GT models and optional ($775, packaged with traction control) in V-6 versions. Seat-mounted side-impact air bags with head-protecting cells are optional, for $370 - also money well spent.

Overall, it looks like the convertible Mustang is as impressive as the hardtop. If you're undecided about color, consider my tester's "windveil" blue body with a "parchment" roof. Very attractive.

But be prepared to wait for your Mustang - hardtop or convertible. Although Ford announced in March that it was boosting production and that it expected to sell 160,000 to 165,000 Mustangs in the United States in this calendar year, they are in high demand. Ford had only a 26-day supply as of May 1, including vehicles in shipment or at dealerships. That's less than half the 60 to 65 days that carmakers consider normal. Ford says V-8 models and convertibles are particularly hard to get.

A would-be purchaser on Long Island called recently, quite upset, to tell me he had placed an order Jan. 15 with a dealership here and was told recently by Ford - after five months of waiting for his Mustang - that he might have to wait for a 2006 model, production of which won't begin until August. Ford spokesman Dave Reuter at headquarters in Michigan says a number of customers are, unfortunately, in that position because Ford won't be able to build all the '05s that were ordered.

2005 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

Vehicle tested:

Engine: 4.6-liter V-8, 300 hp.

Transmission: Five-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive

Safety: Dual front and seat-mounted side-impact air bags; four-wheel disc brakes with antilock; fog lamps

Place of assembly: Flat Rock, Mich.

Weight: 3,658 pounds

Trunk: 9.7 cubic feet

EPA fuel economy rating: 18 miles per gallon city, 23 highway

Price as driven: $34,705, including destination charge

- Tom Incantalupo, Newsday, Friday, June 17, 2005

Mustang Voted "Coolest Car" By AAA

AAA each year picks a "Cool Car", based largely on style and unique personality.  For '05, the Ford Mustang GT was deemed coolest for it's head-turning exterior, snappy cabin and fun-to-drive quality.

- Car & Travel, June 2005

Taking A Thrill Ride With That Pony Car

As problems go, this is a pretty good one to have. Still, Ford Motor Co. sales executives are having a devil of a time figuring out how to feed America's Mustang fever.

From affluent teenagers to nostalgic baby boomers, buyers are clamoring for the retro-styled 2005 Mustang. Incentives are nonexistent, dealers are turning pony cars from their lots in three weeks and Ford is raking in profits.

So what's the problem? Ford vastly underestimated the appetite for snazzy interior upgrades and the GT model's 300-hp. V-8 engine. And Ford's ability to crank up production of those options is limited.

That creates other challenges. For instance, how does Ford equitably allocate cars to dealerships? And how do dealerships retain cash-in-hand customers when they might not be able to fill an order for the rest of the model year?

Although the GT is the hottest Mustang, the V-6 also is selling briskly. It takes a dealer an average of 11 days to turn a GT, but the turn time for a V-6 is 22 days, Ford says.

Some dealers are turning to extreme measures to get Mustangs. Bill Summers Ford in North Platte, Neb., bid more than sticker price for two used GTs in one week. And the dealership, which has taken delivery of only one 2005 Mustang, still didn't win the auctions.

"I got so angry I walked away," said used-car manager Matt Smith after bidding on a red GT with 5,307 miles at a March 24 auction in Denver. The car, which had a sticker price of around $27,000, sold wholesale for $29,900.

Paying above sticker price for a used car sounds crazy. But Smith said customers are so eager for Mustangs that dealers can recoup their money.

Hundreds of dealers probably won't get all their GT orders filled during the waning months of the model year. The sales mix is already 38 percent GTs, compared with around 33 percent GTs in past years.

There is a positive side to all of this, Ford executives say. Pent-up demand should keep the redesigned Mustang strong well beyond its launch year.

Dealers are delighted to have the redesigned Mustang, especially because Ford's car stable has been so weak in recent years. But some are grumbling about allocation. Ford's smallest dealers may get only a few Mustangs for the entire model year. Some have been told not to expect any more GTs.

Ford guaranteed at least one 2005 Mustang to each of its 3,500 U.S. dealers. The automaker's "turn and earn" philosophy means most of the allocation has gone to metropolitan stores and dealers in Sun Belt states, where rear-drive sports cars sell even in the winter.

With the start of spring, Ford is shifting more deliveries to the North.

Ford is "allocating Mustang based on previous dealer sales," said Ben Poore, Ford Division car marketing manager. "We've got to allocate in the fairest way possible."

Ford already has pumped up capacity for the Mustang's interior upgrade package, which features an aluminum-covered dash and customized instrument panel lighting. Nearly 50 percent of customers want upgrades, compared with a rate originally forecast to be in the teens. The aluminum dash supplier added robots in February, and Ford says it is closer to meeting demand.

Ford says it will build at least 192,000 Mustangs this year.

- Amy Wilson, Autoweek, Newsday, Sunday, April 17, 2005

GT500 Reborn As A Modern Thoroughbred: Shelby, SVT Create Most Powerful Mustang Ever

The most powerful factory-built Ford Mustang in history takes to the street next year, following a unique collaboration between performance car legend Carroll Shelby and the Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT).

Ford took the wraps off the 450-plus-horsepower Ford Shelby Cobra GT500 show car at the New York International Auto Show March 23. Designed in the unmistakable image of Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s, the Shelby Cobra GT500 melds SVT's modern engineering with the big-block performance that made the original GT500 the king of the road.

"The all-new 2005 Ford Mustang is one of the hottest cars in many years," says Phil Martens, Ford group vice president, Product Creation. "Its chassis was engineered from the beginning to be the basis of a high-performance, world-class sports car from SVT, and the Shelby Cobra GT500 is it."

Carroll Shelby lends his support to SVT, adapting his earlier role as a senior advisor on the "Dream Team" that was assembled to develop and build the 2005 Ford GT. "I've worked with the SVT guys for several years now, and I know they have the guts, the talent and the passion to deliver the best performance Mustangs ever," says Shelby.

A production version of the GT500 will go on sale in 2006, continuing the high-performance lineage of the SVT Mustang Cobra model line. It will be followed by a steady stream of performance products developed by SVT, including Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin, the industry's first performance sport-utility truck, in 2007.

"SVT led the modern-day factory performance trend with the Mustang Cobra and the industry's first high-performance truck, the F-150 Lightning," says Hau Thai-Tang, director, Ford Advanced Product Creation and SVT. "Today, we're building on that pioneering vision with vehicles like the Ford GT, Shelby Cobra GT500 and Sport Trac Adrenalin - great performance machines that connect with enthusiasts in a way no other companies or vehicles can match."

The production GT500 will be the first in a string of specialty Mustangs that SVT will help deliver. This will create Ford Motor Company's - and one of the industry's - broadest product portfolios, stretching from under $20,000 for the V-6 Mustang coupe to the 450-plus-horsepower GT500, each offering performance and value.

The GT500 and the production-intent Sport Trac Adrenalin teaser accelerate the wave of momentum at SVT since the launch of the 2005 Ford GT supercar. SVT also now will develop non-SVT branded Ford Division performance vehicles - including heritage-based performance Mustangs in the spirit of the 2001 Bullitt GT and 2003 Mach 1 - as it becomes more directly integrated into Ford's mainstream product development process.

Shelby Cobra GT500's supercharged 5.4-liter DOHC V-8 produces over 450-plus horsepower

Just as the original Shelby GT500 was the "step up" to big-block power from the GT350, the new Ford Shelby Cobra GT500 steps up to Ford's 5.4-liter "MOD" V-8. The result? The GT500 is the most powerful factory Mustang ever. Its supercharged 5.4-liter, 32-valve V-8 evolves from SVT's experience with supercharging the "MOD" engine to deliver more than 450 horsepower and 450 foot pounds of torque.

The cast-iron-block, four-valve engine is force-fed an air-and-fuel mixture via a screw-type supercharger at 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost. Aluminum cylinder heads, piston rings and bearings sourced from the Ford GT program bring a high level of proven durability to the drivetrain, while upgraded cooling components promise longevity. "Powered by SVT" camshaft covers are the finishing touch to the engine.

"This version of the 5.4-liter V-8 has a higher horsepower rating than any other factory Mustang in history," says Jay O'Connell, SVT chief vehicle engineer. "It really delivers on the essence of two great names in Ford performance - a mix of SVT's modern-day experience with supercharging and the Shelby GT500's heritage of big-block power."

The engine has been further tuned from its first application in a Mustang, the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R, a limited edition model of 300 units.

Helping to put the power of the GT500's supercharged V-8 to the pavement is a T-56 six-speed manual gearbox. The evenly spaced gears mean less stirring is needed to find the "sweet spot" in keeping the revs "on cam" for power to pass, while at the same time making the most of the engine's broad torque curve. The heavy-duty transmission has proven itself a willing companion to V-8 power in Mustangs in both road and track environments, including the 2000 SVT Mustang Cobra R, 2004 SVT Mustang Cobra and the new race-winning Ford Racing Mustang FR500C.

Great power requires great control

The great Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s were anything but one-trick ponies. They earned their stripes on twisty roads and race tracks across America and Europe. The Shelby Cobra GT500 show car continues that legacy of all-around performance.

The GT500 starts with the solid 2005 Mustang underpinnings. The all-new Mustang's platform was designed from the beginning with performance derivatives in mind, providing an exceptionally rigid, well-engineered starting point for SVT chassis engineers.

Using real-world experience gained during more than 12 years of building great-handling SVT Mustang Cobras, SVT engineers retune and upgrade key chassis components. Improvements such as revised shocks, spring rates and upgraded stabilizer bars help the GT500 stop and turn with the same authority as it goes.

The GT500 features a MacPherson strut independent front suspension with "Reverse L" lower control arms, and a solid-axle, three-link rear suspension with coil springs and a Panhard rod for precise control of the rear axle.

This rear suspension design has been validated on the track by Ford Racing. The race-prepared Ford Racing Mustang FR500C was purpose-built from the base 2005 Mustang body structure and suspension geometry to run in the Grand-Am Cup series, a class of road racing for production-based cars. Competing against the best from Germany and Japan, a Mustang FR500C competed in and won its first ever race in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in February 2005.

"SVT and Ford Racing will be working closer than ever as we go forward on future projects, especially Mustangs," says Thai-Tang, a Ford Racing alumnus who served as the race engineer for the Newman-Haas Racing team in 1993. "The Mustang FR500C racing program is an exact demonstration of the capability we engineered into the mainstream Mustang to be capable of. Now, we have both a Daytona victory and the return of the Shelby Cobra GT500 to showcase Mustang performance possibilities."

To match this power and handling ability, SVT fitted some of the biggest brakes in the business to the GT500. Fourteen-inch cross-drilled Brembo rotors up front and 13-inch discs in the rear continue SVT's legacy of great-braking Mustangs. Secure footing is provided by 19-inch wheels wrapped in high-performance tires.

The snake is back - Legendary looks with SVT function

The Shelby Cobra GT500 combines the dramatic design genes of the all-new Mustang with Carroll Shelby's legendary performance image to create an SVT Mustang that broadens the power brand's design approach and appeal.

"The restrained, performance-oriented SVT design theme has become instantly recognizable to enthusiasts without brash styling cues," says Doug Gaffka, design director, Ford SVT vehicles.. "The GT500 takes a huge leap forward by combining the modern Mustang muscle car with the classic Shelby performance look to expand SVT's reach to a much bigger audience."

The 2005 Mustang design team drew inspiration from classic 1968 Mustangs, the models that transformed the mild-mannered pony car into a muscle car with attitude. Envisioning an SVT model, the team tested GT500 design cues on the Mustang GT coupe concept that was unveiled at the 2003 North American International Auto Show. In 2004, designers further developed the GT500 look on the Mustang GT-R, a race-bred concept with the dual purpose of foreshadowing SVT's Mustang design direction and Ford Racing's plans to return Mustang to road racing.

The GT500 now comes into full light, punctuated by the classic Le Mans-style white stripes that race along the top of the show car's "SVT Red" paint from nose to tail. The stripes recall the Shelby Mustangs that marked another important 1960's Mustang transition when Ford put it on the track to becoming a racing legend. The GT500 nomenclature is prominent in the lower bodyside racing stripe, another cue from the classic Shelby Mustangs.

"The new Mustang has classic design cues from some of the best-looking Mustangs of all-time, including the Shelbys," says Keith Rogman, Ford senior designer. "The design of the GT500 has been at the forefront of our minds since the outset of the entire Mustang program."

The Shelby design elements alone are enough to tell the GT500 story but are not the only visual cues that set this Mustang apart. The reworked front fascia features a functional air splitter and the unique hood has heat-extraction ducts, combining to provide improved airflow and aerodynamics. Revised headlamp insets offer a more aggressive look and result in symmetrical upper and lower grilles with large air openings, creating a visual connection to vintage Shelby Mustangs.

The unique rear fascia features strakes inspired by the Ford GT's integrated rear airflow diffuser, and a rear spoiler reminiscent of a classic GT500. To mark the collaboration of two Mustang performance icons, the GT500 features Shelby and SVT badging.

Continuing the snake logo tradition of past-generation SVT Mustang Cobras, as well as late-model Shelby Mustangs, the fenders each feature an updated design of the Cobra. For the first time on any SVT Mustang, the front grille features an off-center snake in place of the standard running horse. "GT500" is emblazoned inside the side rocker stripes, and the name "SHELBY" is prominently featured across the rear deck. The SVT logo can be seen on the wheel center caps, a signature SVT location, as well as on the doorsill plates. To top if off, the "gas cap" medallion between the taillights reads "Shelby GT500" centered on the Cobra image.

The interior is completely wrapped in ebony black leather, including the top of the dash, door panels and center arm rest. Also wrapped in ebony leather are the shift lever, shift boot and parking-brake handle. SVT Red leather seating surfaces and door panel inserts provide a marked contrast to the rest of the leather-trimmed cabin, surrounding the performance enthusiast with luxury and comfort. Snake logos embroidered into the seat backs finish the package.

"We've taken leather design trends to a new level by using it on almost every exposed surface in the GT500," says Rogman. "Leather has long been a performance fashion accessory for enthusiasts, from jackets to racing gloves, so it perfectly matches all the other driving oriented cues."

The Shelby GT500 script and Cobra image are repeated on the steering wheel cap. Behind the wheel are titanium-faced gauges swapped in location so that the tachometer is dominant visually for the driver. The chrome accessories inside the cabin have been replaced with a satin aluminum finish, including the aluminum shift lever knob that is nicely positioned for quick, positive shifts of the six-speed transmission.

SVT and Shelby: The Legends Grow

With the look and legend one would expect from Carroll Shelby and the kind of power and performance enthusiasts have come to expect from SVT, the GT500 show car points to a brand new era in Ford Motor Company's performance future.

"Carroll Shelby is truly a living automotive legend, a Ford performance legend," says Martens. "It's a dream come true to be able to put the Shelby name on a Mustang again."

Carroll Shelby first put his name on a Mustang back in 1964 when he was asked to inject some high performance into the brand-new pony car. The result was the GT-350R, a lightweight, handling-focused race car that earned the Mustang its first performance credentials. Subsequent Shelby Mustangs included a street version of the race car, the GT-350, and what was known as the "rent-a-racer" Mustang, the GT-350H, a joint project with the Hertz rental car corporation.

The ultimate Shelby Mustang of the era was the GT-500KR, or "King of the Road." Powered by a big block 428-cubic inch "Cobra Jet" V-8, the GT-500 was one of the most powerful, and memorable, muscle cars of that period. Shelby Mustang production ceased in 1970 with a total volume of 14,559 units.

The Ford Special Vehicle Team brought performance back to Mustang in 1993. After 12 years and with nearly 80,000 high-performance Mustangs on the streets, and a total SVT vehicle production nearing 145,000 vehicles, SVT is primed for growth with the GT500 serving as the foundation for other performance Mustang projects.

By bringing together Carroll Shelby and Ford SVT, the company's commitment to performance becomes as powerful as at any time in its history - including the famed "Total Performance" days of the 1960s. From the Ford GT supercar, the GT500, to a rejuvenated Ford Racing Performance Parts program - performance and racing adds luster to its proud brand heritage.

"SVT has been and will remain the leader in performance vehicle engineering and marketing," says Martens. "SVT remains unique in offering the total performance experience. The return of Carroll Shelby to our performance family only strengthens our firepower."

- Media.Ford.com, Saturday, March 26, 2005

Ford To Increase Mustang Production To Meet Runaway Consumer Demand

What’s an auto company to do when demand for a hot model exceeds supply? Give the customers what they want.

Ford today announced that it will take production of the hot new Mustang to more than 192,000 units in 2005 – an increase of more than 70 percent, or 80,000 units, from the previous year.

"Ford Mustang is the hottest car in the industry, and its performance on the street and in the showrooms is beating everyone’s expectations," says Steve Lyons, Ford Division president. "Sales are up more than 45 percent over last year, and V-8 GT and convertible model demand is so strong that we haven’t been able to build enough.

We’re planning to increase production well beyond what was initially planned. This will allow us to sell 160,000 – 165,000 Mustangs in the U.S. this year."

Since its launch in the fall of 2004, the new model Mustang has been an instant sensation with new car buyers. Sales of the 2005 model, coupled with the sell-down of the prior model, have sent overall Mustang sales to record levels every month since launch.

The higher-end Mustang GT V-8 models are in short supply, and the much anticipated new convertible model is just beginning to arrive at dealerships in time for spring. Traditionally, May and June are the hottest selling months for convertible models.

In the key U.S. market, overall Mustang sales are up more than 45 percent on a retail basis over last year, a feat accomplished without the support of the convertible model, which traditionally accounts for one-third of overall Mustang volume. Based on the current sales trajectory, Ford expects to sell about 160,000 – 165,000 Mustangs in the U.S. for the 2005 calendar year. In Canada, where Mustang was named 2005 Canadian Car of the Year, sales continue their triple-digit month-after-month rise, topping records set more than a decade ago.

Increasing sales gains have also been accompanied by share gains. Since the 2005 launch, Mustang has garnered 44 percent of the small specialty segment, featuring sports coupes such as the Pontiac GTO, Nissan 350Z, Chrysler Sebring and Hyundai Tiburon among others.

Red-hot sales and resulting production increases of a new Mustang are not unprecedented. When Mustang was first introduced in April 1964, Ford had only expected to sell 100,000 the first year. But dealers took 22,000 orders the first day. Ford shifted production mid-year and Mustang went on to sell 618,812.

Mustang fever spread from showrooms to car-hops and Mustang legend spread through barbershops, diners and service stations on "Main Street USA" as Mustang became a part of Americana:

A Ford dealer in Chicago locked the doors of Mustangs in his showroom because he feared for the safety of people trying to crowd into them.

In Garland, Texas, 15 customers bid on the same car and the successful bidder insisted on sleeping overnight in the car until his check cleared the bank in the morning.

In Pittsburgh, a restaurant advertised "Our hotcakes sell like Mustangs."

Parents purchased 93,000 Mustang toy pedal cars during the 1964 Christmas season at a price of $12.95.  Today, restored Mustang pedal cars are extremely popular with collectors and some sell for more than $1,000, nearly 100 times the original price.

Nearly 500 Mustang clubs formed in the first two-and-a-half years of the car’s production.

More than 8 million Mustangs have been sold in the 41 years since its introduction. The 1 millionth Mustang was sold by March 1966.

- Media.Ford.com, Thursday, March 17, 2005

A Mercury Mustang?

Ford Motor Co. will consider a new Mustang-based car for Mercury. Barb Samardzich, executive director of Ford Motor Co.'s small-car platforms, says she will prepare a business case for the project. She says a Mercury convertible and coupe derived from the Mustang are high on her list of "cycle-plan wants."

- Autoweek, Newsday, Friday, January 28, 2005

2005 Mustang Convertible - Pricing & Availability

Recently unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Mustang convertible is due out this spring.  Prices will start at at $24,495 for the V-6 model, and $29,995 for the V-8 GT.

- Sunday, January 16, 2005

Run On Mustangs

Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S. automaker, may sell out its production of Mustangs this year as demand for the redesigned 2005 model helps raise sales 16 percent, Executive Vice President Greg Smith said.

"We strongly anticipate we could sell every one," Smith, 53, said at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The company ended production of the 2004 Mustang in May and started the 2005 model in September at the Flat Rock, Mich., factory co-owned with Mazda Motor Corp. The plant can produce 150,000 Mustangs a year. Ford sold 129,858 Mustangs last year.

The 2005 Mustang, the first all-new version in 25 years, is part of a plan by Chief Executive Officer William Clay Ford Jr., 47, to introduce new models and win back customers. Ford introduced the convertible version of the 2005 Mustang at the Los Angeles auto show.

- Bloomberg News, Newsday, Friday, January 14, 2005

Mustang Engine Makes Ward's Top 10

Ward's AutoWorld, the magazine for automotive engineers and insiders, named the 300 horsepower 4.6 liter V-8 Mustang engine one of its Top 10 Best Engines for 2005.  They liked the authenticity of muscle-car power and sound with none of the finicky traits of vintage muscle-car engines, saying, "... you can come out punching with prodigious doses of torque at just about any engine speed - precisely what you count on from a true muscle car."

They went on to say, "Wide-open throttle brings the V-8 basso-bellow you expect - and want... the sound that's nearly perfect: Ford's V-8 doesn't mind if you like the view from the upper end of the tach."

The bargain pricing was one of the considerations Ward's used in its selection.  The Mustang GT delivers 300 horsepower for $24,995.  Ward's ended their praise for the 4.6L with this compliment: "Ford's painstaking blend of new technology and muscle-engine emotion has evolved the 4.6L into one of the industry's most exciting small displacement V-8's".  That says a lot when you consider the 4.6L's competition includes the Audi AG V-8 and the Daimler Chrysler Hemi Magnum.

- Ward's Auto World, January 2005

Mustang Has Been Galloping Past Competitors For 40 Years (The 2005 Mustang GT, which has outlasted competitors for four decades, has an uncanny resemblance to the original)

Ford's new Mustang invites you to party like it's 1967.

In its exterior styling and its interior, the '05 evokes the '67 "fastback," considered by many, including me, the best-looking of all Mustangs.

Did I say evokes? How about "screams"? How about "beats one over the head with"? The '05 Mustang takes retro to new heights, so close is the resemblance of the new car to the original.

Ford is playing the nostalgia card for all it's worth. The three-spoke steering wheel, the large speedometer and tachometer numerals in a '60-ish type font, the square arched "eyebrows" over the gauge cluster and glove box, the heavy use of aluminum and chrome trim on the dash - all will yank older folks back four decades the moment they slip inside and slam the door.

Given that significant numbers of Mustang buyers are people old enough to remember the original, the nostalgia card is likely to play well in this case. In fact, early sales of '05 Mustangs have been strong, Ford says, with most cars arriving at dealerships presold and buyers waiting months for special-ordered vehicles.

Some Mustang styling cues, of course, have been with the car for 40 years: the short deck / long hood shape, the C- scoops in the body sides and the galloping horse badge in the center of the grille.

I sampled a V-6 automatic model and a V-8-powered GT and found both to be incremental but inarguable improvements over their predecessors. The V-6 model was a surprise in how well it handled. The GT was a surprise in how little it extracts from the owner who opts for it over the V-6 model, both in initial outlay and fuel costs.

Ford says both available engines are new. With an extra seven horsepower this year, the V-6 model is once again more than adequate for ordinary driving. The 200-hp. V-6 engine displaces 4.0 liters and replaces a 3.8-liter six.

With an extra 40 hp. this year, the GT is impressive, its 300-hp., 4.6-liter V-8 pulling steadily all the way to the 6,000 rpm redline and sounding as if it's enjoying it as much as the driver.

Although it has less power under the hood than last year's 310 hp. Mach 1 and the 390 hp. SVT Cobra, the '05 GT manages zero to 60 mph in about five seconds. Handling feels secure up to the low triple digits, at least. Be advised, though, that, even at legal speeds, engine exhaust and tire noise in the GT are considerable, and the ride is quite firm - something to consider if you and your Mustang will be galloping long distances for hours at a time.

The five-speed stick in the GT tester, which Ford says was upgraded for '05, was first-rate; it had a precise feel and was paired with a clutch that's easy to get used to and engage smoothly. The lack of a sixth gear seems behind the times for a performance car, though. The available automatic is the first in a Mustang to have five speeds.

The Mustang's wheelbase has grown by 6 inches in the redesign, and the overall length is up by about 4 inches. But even though the wheels were pushed farther to the corners of the car, and there are 2 more inches of shoulder room and about an inch more hip room, the new Mustangs' cabins still feel confining. The rear seats still are cramped for adults despite a 1-inch increase in legroom. The retro gauges can be difficult to read in certain sunlight conditions. And shorter people have been complaining, in print, about the non-height-adjustable passenger seat, which makes it difficult for them to see over the Mustang's bulging hood.

On sale since October, the '05 Mustang represents a complete redo of the car that has outlived every competitor thrown against it since 1964. The chassis body is unitized now and replaces a body on frame design that had its roots in the 1970s. The suspension is new. The Mustang still has a solid rear axle, but thanks to some clever engineering, there is little evidence of the wheel hop on bumpy surfaces that once was common in Mustangs, as well as in Camaros and Firebirds.

As it has been since the beginning, when it was built on the compact Falcon chassis, the Mustang is rear-drive. Traction control is available to help reduce wheel spin, especially on snow and ice.

Unfortunately, especially in a car apt to be driven aggressively and/or by young people, stability control is not available to help control sideways skids.

Although it's retro, the new interior works pretty well ergonomically; controls are easy to locate and generally intuitive. Those of you who buy stick-shift models, however, will find that cups in the poorly located center console cup holders are in constant danger of being tipped over by an elbow.

Convertible Mustangs are due in summer, and a more powerful SVT version is due next year, Ford says.

Antilock brakes are standard in the GT and optional for $775 in the V-6 coupe. Side air bags with head protecting cells are optional. The V-6 tester had them for $370 extra - money well worth spending.

Both Mustang versions come with four-wheel disc brakes, but the GT's front rotors are larger.

The GT also gets wider tires on larger-diameter wheels - P235/55ZR17s versus P215/65R16s on the V-6 model.

There is no publicly available crash test info yet for the new Mustang, either from the federal government or private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Prices for the V-6 Mustang begin at $19,410 for the V-6 model and $24,995 for the GT. Standard in both cars are AC, power mirrors, windows and locks, cruise control and a fold-down rear seatback.

And there's no extra charge for any fond memories brought back.

2005 Ford Mustang

Tested cars: Premium V6 / Premium GT

Engines: 4.0-L V-6, 210 hp. / 4.6-L V-8, 300 hp.

Transmissions, both rear-drive: 5-speed auto / 5-speed manual.

Safety, both: dual front air bags, four-wheel disc brakes with

anti-lock. V-6 only, side air bags; GT only, fog lamps.

Place of assembly: Flat Rock, Mich.

Weight: V-6 / V-8, pounds, 3,387 / 3,483.

Trunk: 13.1 cubic feet.

EPA fuel economy rating,

mpg city, highway V-6 / V-8: 19, 25 / 15, 25.

Price as driven, V-6 / V-8: $25,175 / $28,925.

- Tom Incantalupo, Newsday, Friday, December 31, 2004

Mustang Has Clutch On Psyche Of America (The wait on custom orders is six months; anxious customers will stop at nothing)

Rachel Emmons of Montana had a Mustang pony logo tattooed on her leg way before she took delivery of the redesigned 2005 sports car. Another woman from Texas was so eager to get her new '05 Mustang, she paid to have it picked up at a Kansas City rail yard 550 miles away.

- Eric Mayne, The Detroit News, Monday, December 20, 2004

Mustang Mania Revs Up at SEMA

This year's Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) gathering in Las Vegas, going on now, will be a sort of high-speed utopia for Mustang fans. That's because Ford will show off 15 new 2005 Mustangs modified by tuners who have wrenched past Mustangs to top speed. Among the concepts will be those from Saleen and Carroll Shelby. Ford's interest in the SEMA show, which caters to the tuner market, is critical to the new Mustang: Mustang owners spend an average of $1,500 each year on performance tuning pieces, for a total of more than $800 million each year. At SEMA Ford will also announce its new Ford Racing Mustang competition program, which will enable Mustang owners to race their vehicles with input from Ford's engineering experts. The core of the program is Ford Racing's 5.0-liter Cammer V8 engine, the most popular racing transplant into the Mustang body. Ford also is expected to show its ultimate Mustang, the SVT Cobra, as a 400-hp supercar sometime during the 2005 auto show season.

- Edmunds.com, Thursday, November 4, 2004

This Pony Has Mass Appeal (This 40-year-old still can turn lots of heads)

For teenager Kenny Admire, the canary yellow 2005 Ford Mustang GT was pure eye candy, and then some.

He spotted it in the parking lot of an Orange County, Calif., shopping center, the first of the completely redesigned, retro-styled Mustangs he had seen. For half an hour he sat in the lot and stared at the car, waiting until the driver showed up so he could hear the deep rumble of the 300-hp. engine.

"Mustangs are just great cars - everything I want," said Admire, a high school senior who owns a 1998 model and dreams of trading up.

Ford Motor Co. loves to hear that kind of talk. The automaker has a lot riding on the new Mustang, the fifth-generation model of the iconic "pony car" that goes on sale late this month.

"It's one of the most important new cars for Ford in years," said industry analyst Wes Brown of Iceology, a Los Angeles-based market research firm. "It needs to be a success to show people that Ford can make cars worth going to the dealership to look at." Ford for years has relied heavily on pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, which account for virtually all of its automotive profit. It could use a hit on the passenger car side of the ledger.

The Dearborn, Mich.- based automaker more than doubled its net income in the first six months of 2004 - after years of reducing costs, cutting jobs and squeezing its suppliers - but its share of the U.S. auto market keeps declining. In August, it had fallen to 19.7 percent from 24.1 percent five years ago.

Rivals with fresh passenger cars, such as the hot-selling Chrysler 300 sedan, have been wooing and winning the customers Ford needs to reverse its slump.

Hoping to fight back, the company plans a flurry of new cars in the next year, including the Five Hundred and Fusion midsize sedans, the SUV-like Freestyle crossover, the limited-production $140,000 Ford GT sports car and the Mustang.

Mustang's unique look

"A Mustang is a car you can see coming down the road," said Larry Erickson, chief designer of the 2005 version. "It doesn't look like anything else." Since the first Mustang appeared in 1964, Ford has sold more than 8 million. "Its success defies any logical explanation," said Brock Yates, a columnist for Car and Driver magazine. "Ford got the formula right" with an inexpensive, sporty car that appealed to a broad array of buyers.

Ford has fingers crossed that the trend will continue. The company's marketing machine, aided by 250 Mustang clubs across the country, has spread the word, and its U.S. dealers have more than 25,000 advance orders. The company expects to build and sell about 160,000 of the '05 Mustangs, up from sales of 140,350 last year.

Auto reviewers say the design pays homage to the most popular Mustangs of the late 1960s, including the model Steve McQueen drove in the film "Bullitt." The '05 follows the classic formula of a long hood, short trunk and sloping fastback roofline, with headlamps and fog lamps staring out of a squared-off black mesh grille. The interior is a throwback, too; there's polished aluminum on the dashboard and a round speedometer and tachometer with needle indicators rather than digital readouts.

The six-cylinder model delivers 210hp. and starts at $19,410, and the base model of the V-8 GT costs about $25,000 - making it the least expensive 300-hp. hot rod on the market.

The '05 model rides on new suspension, and reviewers say it's a giant step forward in handling and ride comfort from the previous model.

Mass appeal always has been the Mustang's strength. The car, long marketed as a youthful performance model, fits slow-cruising 60-year-olds as well as tire-burning teens, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. The average age of owners, at 42, falls between those extremes.

In addition, a sizable proportion of Mustang buyers are women - about 40 percent, high for a sports model.

Ford's pony car was unveiled at the New York World's Fair on April 17, 1964, the brainchild of Lee Iacocca, then-president of the Ford division. He envisioned the car as an American answer to European sports touring sedans. He wanted a car that looked good, appealed to families as well as young enthusiasts and wouldn't require purchasers to take out second mortgages on their homes.

The four-seater Mustang caught on as quickly as Beatlemania. Ford ramped up production, and Mustang sales peaked at 549,426 in 1966. The car spawned a host of muscle car competitors from Ford's rivals in the Big Three, including the Chevrolet Camaro, Oldsmobile 442 and Pontiac Firebird and GTO from General Motors Corp., and the Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Challenger and Charger from what was then Chrysler Corp.

Competitors nibbled into the Mustang's sales, and, after the 1970s oil crisis, sales of most muscle cars nose-dived because of rising gas prices and stricter environmental standards.

Corvette's longer pedigree

Only the Chevrolet Corvette, a two-seater sports car sold continually since 1953, has a longer pedigree than the Mustang among domestic sports models.

In the past two decades, Mustang sales have held relatively steady at about 140,000 units a year. It "remains the last man standing in a niche laden with opportunity," Yates said.

GM attempted to resurrect the Pontiac GTO this year. But sales of the Australian-made car, despite a powerful V-8 engine, have been tepid. Meanwhile, DaimlerChrysler plans to bring back a sporty Dodge Charger model next year, but it will be a four-door sedan.

So, for now, Ford has this corner of the market pretty much to itself and keeps attracting a broad spectrum of customers.

- John O'Dell, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Sunday, October 31, 2004

Ford Launches Its All-New 2005 Mustang

Ford Motor Co. launched its all-new 2005 Mustang on Monday, the fifth generation of the iconic sports car the company sorely needs to help lift sluggish U.S. sales.

The new car, built at the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock that Ford co-owns with Mazda Motor Corp., is scheduled to reach showrooms next month. The base price for a V6 version will be $19,410. The GT version with a V8 engine will start at $24,995.

The new car's design has received kudos from analysts and Mustang enthusiasts for effectively marrying design cues from the 1960s with modern enhancements. The three-element taillights, for example, harken back four decades to Mustang's origins. But the new 4.6-liter, 300-horsepower engine has more than 50 percent more power than the V8 in the classic 1964 model.

"America, your car is ready," Jim Padilla, Ford's chief operating officer, said at a gathering of workers, reporters and others at the plant. "Mustang is the exclamation point of Ford's product onslaught."

Ford is in the midst of launching nine new or revamped vehicles in 90 days, including nameplates such as the Ford Five Hundred, the company's new flagship sedan, and the Freestyle crossover vehicle.

Ford has dubbed 2004 the "Year of the Car," although the company's car sales were down 14.2 percent for the first eight months of the year, including a 10 percent drop in Mustang business, according to Autodata Corp. Overall vehicle sales were off nearly 5 percent.

In addition, Ford is in jeopardy this year of losing to Chevrolet its long-held title as the nation's best-selling automotive brand.

In a research report, Merrill Lynch's John Casesa said Ford's new products "present some opportunities and some challenges."

Casesa said the popularity of crossover vehicles, which typically have characteristics of a car, minivan and sport utility vehicle, and Ford's large distribution network bode well for the Freestyle. But Casesa noted that the Five Hundred will compete in an already crowded field of large sedans that he predicts "will continue to decline as a percentage of the market."

Ford has gone to great lengths to make sure the launch of the new Mustang is flawless.

The automaker invested nearly $700 million in Flat Rock's flexible manufacturing system, which makes the plant, about 15 miles south of Detroit, capable of building up to six different models on two vehicle platforms.

Also at Monday's ceremony, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said the federal government would provide $6.3 million in new grants to help train auto industry workers on new advanced production techniques. The Labor Department said a previous grant helped train some workers producing the new Mustang.

On the New York Stock Exchange, Ford shares rose 9 cents to close at $13.89 Monday.

- John Porretto, AP Auto, Newsday, Monday, September 27, 2004

At 40, The Pony Still Packs Punch

For a 40-year-old, the Ford Mustang is doing well. It hasn't lost its looks, it hasn't lost its fans and it hasn't lost its punch. One could argue that it hasn't gotten older - just better.

While 40 might not be old for a person, it is for a car. The Mustang has outlived every challenger, including the Dodge Challenger and several generations of Pontiac Firebirds and Chevrolet Camaros.

Why? Jim Wangers, who was a marketing executive for General Motors' Pontiac division in the 1960s and helped launch the first GTO, says one reason is that Ford kept the Mustang both affordable and practical to live with - easy to climb in and out of, for example. "I have nothing but high praise for the way Ford has handled the Mustang," Wangers said.

Most Mustangs were sold with V-6s, but versions such as Kevin Appel's '68 Shelby GT-500, with its 428-cubic- inch V-8, kept the Mustang a regular in car magazines.

Appel, an auto technician from Wading River, had eight Mustangs before the '68, mostly during the '70s, then drove trucks for a while. About 1998, he said, his son gave him a magazine devoted to Mustangs. "That started the fire," he said. He bought the Shelby in 2000.

To be sure, the Mustang isn't the only car to survive for decades. The Porsche 911 certainly is as enduring, with its roots in the '40s and a following every bit as loyal as the Mustang's. The Jeep Wrangler, too, has been a survivor. Its name is different than when it was used during World War II, but the concept is the same.

The Cadillac DeVille is still the luxury car it was when it debuted in 1949, except that it's front-wheel drive now. The Chevrolet Impala, Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Bonneville have the same purpose in life as their predecessors during the late 1950s, even if their drivetrains are different.

Camaro owners will argue strenuously that their cars also were cultural icons in their day.

A trailblazer

The Mustang is unique among those cars, though, in that it was the first of its type - an affordable small, sporty personal car - and it was American. As every enthusiast knows, the Mustang was born in 1964 as a '65 model (often referred to as a '64 1/2), brought to us by Lee Iacocca and some colleagues at Ford who saw an opportunity for a different kind of car - small and affordable but stylish as well. It could be built cheaply because its underpinnings were shared with the frumpy Ford Falcon compact.

Available from the start with V-8 power, the Mustang got even nastier over time because competitors such as the GTO were kicking sand in its face. It reached its peak for that era in the Boss versions of 1969 and 1970.

Some purists think the Mustang lost its soul for a few years during the '70s, when it was called the Mustang II and based on the compact Pinto, that sad little rust bucket best remembered for its fuel tank fires. "They're sort of orphans," Mike Basile of East Setauket, owner of two Mustangs and president of the Long Island Mustang and Shelby Owners Club, said of the Mustang II. "They never really caught on as performance cars, although today they're becoming more collectible as the prices of the others are going up."

For the 1979 model year, the Mustang was shifted to a bigger chassis - shared with family cars like the Fairmont, LTD II and Grenada. Since then, there has been a string of GTs and SVT (Special Vehicle Team) versions that can outrun and certainly outdrive any of their predecessors.

In the late '80s, Ford considered shifting the Mustang to front-wheel drive. Word got out, enthusiasts howled and Ford listened. It remains rear-drive.

New model to recall old

And a new one is coming this fall. Hau Thai-Tang, engineering manager for the 2005 Mustang, saw his first when he was a youngster in his native Vietnam during the war, when several were brought over to promote safe driving among American troops. (A tidbit: He came here as a child and was raised in Brooklyn and Staten Island.) "The car embodied all our positive images of America," he said.

The 2005 model is reminiscent of what Basile says is widely considered the best-looking of all Mustangs - the "fastback" of the late '60s. The signature long hood and short rear deck continue, as do "C-scoops" in the body sides and the galloping horse badge in the center of the grille.

Ford says the '05 has a 6-inch longer wheelbase than the current model. Once again, a V-6 and V-8 will be available, but the former is modified and the latter is all new and delivers 300 hp - up from 260 in the current GT. For the record, Ford says that's 50 percent more power than was produced by the 289-cubic-inch V-8 in the '65 model. (The '04 Mach 1's V-8 was rated at 310 hp., while the Cobra version's V-8 delivered 390 hp.)

The new Mustangs are in production and expected to start arriving at dealerships in late October. You're not likely to miss their official on-sale date in November, as Ford is planning a media blitz to launch the car, whose iconic status helps to cast a bright light on Ford just as the Corvette does for Chevrolet. "The Mustang is kind of the soul of the brand," said Paul Russell, Ford's marketing director for the Mustang, Thunderbird and GT exotic car. "It's the poor man's halo car."

- Tom Incantalupo, Newsday, Sunday, September 12, 2004

Matchbox Mustang

Matchbox Toys has come up with a special 40th anniversary series of Mustang collectibles that includes 1/43-scale models of the 1965 Mustang convertible, the 1967 Mustang GT fastback and the 1970 Mustang Boss 302, each priced at $8.99. Also available are 1/64-scale models of the 1995 Mustang Cobra, the 1999 Mustang GT, the 2005 Mustang GT concept, the 1965 Mustang 2+2, the 1968 Mustang GT428CJ, and the 1970 Mustang Boss 302, each priced at $4.99. The series is available in major toy stores.

- Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Friday, May 14, 2004

Dearborn's Last Pony Car

The last Mustang built at Ford's Dearborn, Michigan, plant rolled off the line today.  The plant, built with Henry Ford's guidance, is closing, and Mustangs will now be made in Flat Rock, Michigan.  Oscar Hovsapian rode in the last Mustang; he drove the first one out of there in 1964.

- Monday, May 10,2004

Ford Expects To Run Out Of 2004 Models By The Summer

Ford Motor Co. expects to run out of current-model Mustangs before it begins assembling the redesigned 2005 Mustang in September.

Production of the 2004 Mustang will end May 10 at Ford's Rouge plant in Dearborn, Mich. Then Ford will shift Mustang production to Flat Rock, Mich., where it runs a joint-venture assembly plant with Mazda.

Since August, Ford has been building Mustangs on overtime to help it through the summer production drought. But demand for the old model has surpassed expectations: Mustang sales are up 16 percent this year.

"It's not going to make it," said Ford division president Steve Lyons. "By July they're going to be pretty scarce."

Buoyed by overtime production, Mustang stocks have been high through the winter. But the numbers are coming down fast. Ford had 58,200 Mustangs or a 96-day supply on April 1, down from a 127-day supply on March 1.

Sales for the rear-drive Mustang coupe and convertible typically are strongest in the spring and summer.

Convertibles account for 30 percent of production. After the current stock of convertibles sells out, buyers must wait until spring 2005 to get a drop-top version of the redesigned Mustang.

Ford offers a $3,000 cash rebate on the Mustang, but it might scale that back in May or June as inventories drop, Lyons said.

"There's no point when you're going to run out," he said. "You can't just back it off to zero. That doesn't work, but you might dial it differently."

- Amy Wilson, Automotive News, Newsday, Sunday, April 25, 2004

Ford's Mustang Is Back From The Glue Factory (Redesigned For '05)

The Ford Mustang, riding on the same platform since Jimmy Carter was president, is long overdue for a trot to the glue factory.

That comes next summer when the car will be replaced by the 2005 Mustang, which has been rebuilt from the wheels up. It was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 4. The redesigned car, with its strong resemblance to the classic 1967-69 models, should be popular with the Mustang faithful. But a key challenge for Ford is to boost the car's appeal beyond Mustang's hard-core customers.

Ford officials think the new car will do that by offering higher quality, new V-6 and V-8 engines, five- speed automatic and manual transmissions, performance-tuned front and rear suspensions, better traction and handling on snow, improved seat comfort, a more functional interior and higher quality interior materials, such as brushed aluminum trim.

Although the Mustang's traditional foes, the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, were dropped at the end of the 2002 model year, the redesigned Mustang still has tough competition. The Mustang GT, likely to be priced around $25,000, will compete against the new Pontiac GTO sports coupe and the Nissan 350Z and Mazda RX-8 sports cars. The base model V-6 Mustang, which is expected to start at just less than $17,000 and account for about 60 percent of sales, will compete against Mitsubishi Eclipse, Toyota Celica and other sporty imports. Ford expects a sales increase from 140,000 units in 2003 to about 180,000 units in 2005.

Hau Thai-Tang, chief engineer for the new Mustang, says engineers started by tearing apart cars such as the BMW M3, Lincoln LS and Cadillac CTS when they were developing the Mustang's suspension and brake systems. But Thai-Tang says the project did not gel until Phil Martens became vice president of North American product creation in 2003. "It had eight different personalities," Thai-Tang says. "Engineers would go off and benchmark the steering from BMW, the brakes from Cadillac. Phil brought in the notion of harmony."

The 2005 Mustang is based on a shortened version of the same platform that underpins the Lincoln LS and Jaguar S-Type. Its wheelbase is 107.1 inches, 6 inches longer than the 2004 Mustang. That helps eliminate the choppy, rough ride of the old model. Thai-Tang says the car shifts 175 pounds of weight from front to back, which, combined with a new traction control and antilock brakes, improves the car's handling on snow. Ford expects stronger sales in Northeastern and Midwestern states, where the car does not sell well.

Ford engineers tuned the redesigned Mustang's drivetrain and suspension by installing the current body on the new chassis. Test cars were run on racetracks and driven in Detroit while engineers made adjustments. The powertrains for both the V-6 and GT models are new to Mustang. The displacement of the V-6 has been increased from 3.8 liters to 4.0; horsepower is up to 202 from 193. The new engine has a single overhead camshaft while the old motor used pushrods. The V-6 is closely related to the one used in the Ford Explorer. The overhead-cam engine in the Mustang GT is rated at 300 hp., 40 more than the engine in the 2004 model. The new motor has three valves per cylinder and is based on the V-8 used in the redesigned F-150. Both engines have liquid filled mounts to cancel vibration and have better fuel economy.

The new car's interior tackles several gripes of Mustang fans. They've asked for more comfortable seats, less gaudy plastic trim and more room. One feature is a chromed instrument cluster with 1960s styling. Drivers can change the instrument lighting to one of 125 colors. Overall, the interior is an inch wider, 1.4 inches taller and offers about 4 inches more legroom.

- Richard Truett, Automotive News, Newsday, Sunday, January 18, 2004

Old Mustang Keeps Pace

While enthusiasts await the next-generation Ford Mustang coming out next summer as an '05, the old model is holding its own, Ford Division president Steve Lyon says.  "Sales should top 150,000 this year", he says. "Mustang has done well enough to drive two major competitors out of business", referring to the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird.

- Newsday, Friday, December 26, 2003

300 Millionth Ford: It Was A Mustang

Ford Motor Co. chief executive Bill Ford loves Mustangs.

His first car was a Mustang.  "It's no secret to any of you that this is my favorite car in the world", he told employees at Ford's Dearborn Assembly Plant earlier this month.  He was there to mark the production of the automaker's 300 millionth vehicle - and it just happened to be a red 2004 Mustang GT convertible.

Ford said: "When the company built its 1-millionth car, my great-grandfather, Henry Ford, said, 'A million of anything is a great many'.  He would be very proud that his company produced 300 million vehicles".

- Automotive News, Newsday, Friday, December 5, 2003

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